China vs India: Fossil fuel consumption
China
39,443 terawatt-hours
in 2025
India
10,100 terawatt-hours
in 2025
China rank
1st
India rank
3rd
Fossil fuel consumption over time
- China
- India
How they compare
China currently reports 39,443 terawatt-hours against 10,100 terawatt-hours in India, a difference of 29,343 terawatt-hours.
That makes China's figure about 3.9 times India's.
Across all 61 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 214 countries.
China has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1,549 terawatt-hours | 611.05 terawatt-hours | 937.53 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1970s | 3,468 terawatt-hours | 828.84 terawatt-hours | 2,640 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1980s | 5,778 terawatt-hours | 1,430 terawatt-hours | 4,348 terawatt-hours | China |
| 1990s | 9,395 terawatt-hours | 2,649 terawatt-hours | 6,746 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2000s | 18,134 terawatt-hours | 4,244 terawatt-hours | 13,890 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2010s | 30,574 terawatt-hours | 7,115 terawatt-hours | 23,458 terawatt-hours | China |
| 2020s | 37,260 terawatt-hours | 9,215 terawatt-hours | 28,045 terawatt-hours | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher fossil fuel consumption, China or India?
- China, at 39,443 terawatt-hours against 10,100 terawatt-hours in India as of 2025.
- What is the difference in fossil fuel consumption between China and India?
- 29,343 terawatt-hours, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and India?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do China and India rank globally for fossil fuel consumption?
- China ranks 1st and India ranks 3rd of 214 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Fossil fuel consumption. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and gas.